Auto Industry NewsAnd Car Reviews

Honda has issued a recall of its Odyssey models built between August 8, 2006–September 8, 2008 which encompasses most 2007 and 2008 models. The recall totals a whopping 344,187 models in all and is due to a potential malfunction of the car's software. This potential defect may cause the Vehicle Safety Assist System (VSA) to engage the brakes unexpectedly and forcefully. What's worse yet is that when the brakes are applied by the VSA, the brake lights do not light up, which could cause a potentially fatal crash.

Unfortunately, replacements parts for this recall will not be available for at least another six months. Honda has said they will notify owners of the potential problem and include instructions on how to avoid having the car brake unexpectedly. Obviously when parts become available, Honda will notify owners immediately and set up a free repair of the issue. Owners may contact Honda at 1-800-999-1009 with any questions they may have.

Chrysler has issued a recall of 36,710 of its Dodge Ram pickup trucks. The trucks in question were built between February 20, 2007 through December 22,2012 which were designated as 2008-2012 model years. The recall is limited to Ram 4500 and Ram 5500 models. These trucks are typically limited to work use -- tow trucks, light dump trucks, and plenty of towing applications. The issue here is a defect from the factory, a weak left tie rod assembly that has the propensity to break under stress. Naturally, these trucks are exposed to tons of stressful work and with the amount of weight they can be hauling around, a broken tie rod assembly could cause the loss of steering capabilities and subsequently cause massive damage and potentially a number of fatalities if it were to occur in the wrong scenario.

If you’ve ever felt the urge to go west, then you might try a jaunt around the Olympic Peninsula in Washington State. As far as the lower 48 of the United States is concerned, it’s as far west as you can drive without falling into the Pacific Ocean. It’s also a place of where you’ll never have to choose between going to the mountains or the beach. That’s because both options are within sight during the entire trip. There are also rivers, lakes, forests, and meadows so beautiful you’ll question your grip on reality when you see them.

There is a global awareness of the need to reduce pollution. One issue is automobile emissions. It has been in the news for decades and the United States has taken the electric path in answer. Overseas the response has leaned more toward diesel cars. The US government has put emission standards in place that run through the year 2025 which make diesel cars almost impossible to produce here. Also, diesels are not popular due to the price of fuel.

We've heard that Tesla has a number of cars in the pipeline, including the Model X crossover, a sub-Model S sedan and a new roadster. This is by far the strangest item on the docket, however: Tesla said this week that it's planning a pickup truck.

Next week, both the Tokyo and LA Auto Shows kick off. As such, we may as well just call this week "New Car/Concept Preview Week." One of the most radical concepts of either show is sure to be the BladeGlider concept from Nissan, a triangular 1 + 2 electric sports car that "shifts the engineering paradigm."

Automakers want to be in the public eye. That’s why they spend so much money on advertising and product placement in television shows. There’s a saying that all publicity is good publicity but I think Tesla would disagree. They are in the news once again, this time for an industrial accident that occurred at their plant in Palo Alto, California.

Police investigators have files in their offices, which are labeled “cold”. Anyone who watches crime dramas knows this. If a case is unable to be solved it sits and waits for new information to be uncovered or new technology to be invented to help find out ‘whodunit”. Why don’t car manufacturers have cold cases? You know, someone who looks at great ideas from the past that were not able to be realized at the time.

I recently undertook my first solo-long-distance road trip (yet another chance to test the Kia; it passed), driving from Texas up to the frigid wastes of Maine. Joking, Maine is beautiful right now, the last gasp of the changing leaves painted in warm winter sunlight, set off the by the immeasurable steel-grey of the Atlantic Ocean. It makes for some heavenly driving, too; some fantastic coastal roads that twist and wind their way smoothly through small forests and across peninsulas are a stone’s throw away from my lodgings. Now that I’m here, though, the journey as it stands is over, and I find myself reflecting on the nature and possibilities therein.

I want to discuss sportsmanship; not among sportsmen themselves, but among the fans. Colloquially, this is also known as “being a decent human being”. Sebastian Vettel has just achieved the remarkable feat of winning the Formula One world championship four times in a row; which puts him in a very exclusive club. So exclusive, in fact, that he numbers among just three others, all of whom firmly sit in the pantheon of All Time Greats. You can’t be the best in the world at something four years straight and not be one of the most highly regarded in your field. Or so it should be.

The world today is full of cars. So full, in fact, that we’ve altered it to suit the car, rather than altering the car to suit it: look at how many tunnels we’ve bored through mountains or forests we’ve demolished to make roads. It may, in fact, be the only thing that remains just as essential to the running and progress of the human race as the computer. This post is aimed at Americans in particular, but that’s not to say that it can’t apply to you if you live elsewhere.